To compare its diva power, just imagine Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga hanging out for an evening of fun and song. That's what families are about to enjoy with "Rockin' Ever After" -- which comes to Northeast Ohio Jan. 11 through 21 at Quicken Loans Arena -- with princesses Ariel ("The Little Mermaid"), Rapunzel ("Tangled"), Belle ("Beauty and the Beast") and Merida ("Brave").

"All four of them are divas," said veteran Disney on Ice Choreographer Cindy Stuart, calling from Los Angeles. "But Merida, without a doubt, is the biggest diva. Not that the others aren't but, they're a little bit more delicate about it."

Merida is the surprise star of the show considering the ink was barely dry on Disney/Pixar film "Brave" (OK, ink hasn't been used in most animated films for roughly 15 years, but you get the idea) when organizers came to Disney on Ice with the idea of introducing the 10th-century Scottish story line into this year's touring production.

It wasn't a lot of time. How did Stuart and company pull it off?

"It was a very quick turnaround," Stuart said. "It was to the point where we didn't really have music yet when we were starting to create it. It was an interesting process. I think the hurdle is to be truly authentic to the story and the character that has been created because we have so little time with it, but I think we did a really good job."

Stuart added the exciting part was bringing something new to the Disney on Ice show, which in this case was music and choreography in the form of a Scottish jig. Somewhat similar to Irish line dancing, the "Brave" moves proved problematic when translating into an ice production.

You see there's something about the Achilles tendon that doesn't hold up to repeated jumping -- or at least the amount of jumping required to pull off line dancing. Stuart said she created some "really fancy footwork" to compensate and in the process designed a Scottish highland sling-esque routine.

Overall, Stuart said she was up for the challenges presented by "Rockin' Ever After." A former amateur skater turned full-time choreographer a decade ago, Stuart has collaborated with Olympic Champions Xue Shen, Hongbo Zhao, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, as well as choreographed several Disney on Ice productions, including "Disney on Ice Presents Dare to Dream."

"I think what was challenging in this show is that we've done these (story lines) in the past, so it was how to reinvent and create those characters with fresh eyes," Stuart said. "We were able to do that with 'Beauty and the Beast,' especially by re-imagining the number 'Be Our Guest' with redesigned costumes. It has a really fabulous fresh look."

She added, "And for 'Little Mermaid, we kind of re-imagined her solo so she's being lifted almost by the current of the water. And an added special aspect of the solo has Ariel doing a Spanish web act. That's very exciting. But all four of the characters are distinct. That's why this show appeals to so many different demographics."